Tusk Tusk,Theresa
May angers EU chiefs with plans for migrants Osborne reveals she scuppered previous deal
THERESA May’s plans for the three million EU nationals living in the UK after Brexit were met with contempt by European leaders.
Speaking after a bad-tempered summit in Brussels, EU Council President Donald Tusk said her vague opening offer was “below expectations” and “risks worsening the situation”.
EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker was equally scathing, saying the PM’s plan was “not sufficient”. And allpowerful German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Mrs May’s proposals were “not a breakthrough”, sighing: “We have a long path ahead of us.”
Mrs May had told the summit on Thursday night that migrants living in Britain before a certain date would be allowed to stay for five years and then gain permanent “settled status” with the same rights they enjoy now.
But she suggested the cut-off date could be as early as March 2017, meaning some newly arrived workers may not be allowed to stay. She gave no details of whether the new status would apply to spouses and families and flatly rejected a demand that EU citizens living in Britain continue to be governed by EU courts.
Migrants who have been in the UK for five years will get their new status as soon as we leave the EU in 2019.
But the offer is conditional on British expats receiving the same treatment.
The mood was not lightened by a sensational newspaper claim that Mrs May had vetoed a David Cameron bid to give full rights to all EU migrants immediately after last June’s Leave vote. Mrs
May called the fresh proposal a “fair and serious” offer that will provide “certainty” for EU workers.
But reaction from leaders of the remaining 27 EU countries was deeply sceptical. Dutch PM Mark Rutte said it begged “thousands of questions” while his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel used a Flemish phrase to describe a dubious gift.
He said: “We don’t want a cat in the bag. We want the rights of EU citizens permanently guaranteed.”
Mrs Merkel was more cautious, saying: “It was a good start but it was also not the breakthrough, to put it conservatively.” The German Chancellor was speaking alongside new French President Emmanuel Macron in a rare joint press conference designed to show the two countries are now the main power-players. As Mr Macron nodded in agreement, she went on: “It became clear during the discussion that we have a long path ahead of us.” Full details of Mrs May’s proposals will be published on Monday. Mr Tusk said the plan will then be picked over by his chief negotiator Michel Barnier next week.
But he made clear he was unimpressed with what he has seen so far.
“My first impression is that it is below expectations and risks worsening the situation of citizens,” he said.
Mr Juncker said he was unhappy about Mrs May’s refusal to consider letting the European Court of Justice oversee EU migrants’ rights.
The mood at the two-day summit had already turned sour when Mrs May’s ex-Cabinet colleague George Osborne sensationally claimed that she had blocked a proposal to promise residency rights to all EU migrants after the Brexit vote last summer.
Writing in the Evening Standard, Mr Osborne said: “David Cameron wanted to reassure EU citizens they would be allowed to stay. All his Cabinet agreed with that unilateral offer except his Home Secretary, Mrs May, who insisted on blocking it.”
The revelation sparked fury in Brussels, with Dutch MEP Sophie in’t Veld slamming Mrs May as “ruthless, heartless and calculating”.
The claims were confirmed by sources close to Mr Cameron, who said there had been “wide support” for the PM’s plan. But knowing Mrs May could be his successor, departing Mr Cameron agreed to drop the proposal in the face of her personal opposition.
Mrs May did not deny the claims but insisted it was “certainly not my recollection” of what happened.
Mrs May vetoed Cameron plan to give migrants full rights GEORGE OSBORNE FORMER CHANCELLOR
The PM’s plan is not sufficient... and what about the EU court? JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER EU COMMISSION CHIEF
It became clear in discussions we have a long path ahead of us ANGELA MERKEL GERMAN CHANCELLOR